1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of picture frames and the display thereof, and more particularly to the display of a plurality of picture frames along the length of a vertical pole. In its most preferred embodiment, the present invention relates to a pole system for displaying picture frames along a pole coupled to but spaced apart from the vertical surface of an office furniture panel.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large number of systems are known for displaying paintings, photographs and the like, and in recent years a large number of styles of picture frames have been manufactured and sold in many price categories and for many different display environments. Frames may be placed on a table, shelf, desk, or other horizontal surface, or frames may be hung on a vertical surface, such as a wall. For picture frames hung on a wall, the back of the frame is typically equipped with a wire, a circular opening on a tab or sawtooth shaped bracket, and a nail or other hanger is secured in the wall. The frame attachment component engages the wall component to suspend the frame at a desired location. With the frame wires and the sawtooth plates mentioned above, frame alignment is accomplished by moving the frame laterally, while with the tab attachment component on the back of the frame, alignment is automatic as the wall component comes to rest at the top center of the opening.
It is also known that a grouping of picture frames may be located on a vertical wall surface. One such system includes a wire rod mounted vertically on a wall, with four wire hooks fixed on the rod. each hook engages the bottom edge of a frame. This system is not adjustable with respect to hook or frame locations, and the rod is not supplied with any fastening means other than one which will secure the rod to a flat, vertical surface.
In recent years, a number of new work environments have appeared in offices, especially with the development of office furniture panels or "systems furniture" as those products are known in that art. Systems furniture is comprised of a plurality of reconfigurable vertical panels, which are typically arranged end to end and in perpendicular orientations to define individual workstations or cubicles.
While systems furniture provides great space efficiency, the resultant workstations are typically smaller than the offices which they replace and have less horizontal and vertical surfaces for the display of pictures or other aesthetic enhancements. Furthermore, with the ever-increasing use of computers, printers, and other technological marvels, less and less space is available for a worker to personalize a cubicle or add a calming effect by displaying pictures of family, favorite places, paintings or other art objects. Pinning or taping pictures to corkboards or to the decorative skins of systems furniture is frequently done, but the result is generally not aesthetically pleasing.
A system for displaying a plurality of picture frames which would be useful with systems furniture and in other home and office environments would represent a significant advance in the art.